Squealing Potatoes And Garden Candy

Did you know that a potato squeals when it is stabbed with a shovel? Well according to my uncle Rob it does!

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon in October, a little warmer than a typical fall day in New England. The sky was blue and we were ready to pick. We were going to my uncle Robs and aunt Sally's garden. The goal here was to help Rob pick vegetables, teach the boys (and us) a thing or two about gardening and bring a few things home to create with. Sounds like a perfect day to me. And it was!

First thing the boys got to do was collect chicken eggs. They seemed like old pros. Both of them got right in the chicken house and started collecting. We did have to give Abe a few lessons about handling the eggs gently, scrambled eggs are good but not before you are going to cook them! Caleb counted 21 eggs and Abe only cracked 2.

There is nothing like fresh chicken eggs in the morning. The color of the yoke is so much more vibrant than those in a grocery store. Two very fresh eggs poached, whole wheat toast, my favorite breakfast!

Our next lesson, digging potatoes! And yes, part of that lesson was that potatoes squeal when you stab them. Just ask Caleb, he swears he heard it. In order to keep your potatoes from squealing you've got to dig down deep enough as not to harm any of the spuds as they are being harvested. A lesson Caleb will not soon forget!
Here we all are digging potatoes. Cyndee was the official photographer for the day! Thanks Cyn!

Here Caleb is trying his hand at harvesting them himself! Not bad for a beginner! This was around the time Abraham scolded Rob for getting his Mamas shoes dirty! That's my boy, always watching out for his mama!

A pretty good harvest of potatoes that day.

Here's Abraham picking some broccoli shoots. You have to be very focused to get the job done right! You get broccoli shoots after the initial harvest of the broccoli head. They are delicious.

Next we headed for the tomatoes and the raspberries. I think these were the sweetest tomatoes I ever put in my mouth. I cannot remember the official name of them but Rob referred to them as garden candy, a very fitting name. I'm still not sure if Caleb knew he was actually eating a tomato or if he really thought it were candy. Abe on the other hand was not fooled. He would not even take a bite!

Even one of the chickens was able to snag some garden candy.

The raspberries were equally delicious! They nearly melted in my mouth.

Here I am picking some baby lettuce leaves. It was the most tender lettuce I ever ate!

We also picked beans that day and the boys helped Rob harvest a gourd that will dry out and be turned into a bird house or feeder! We had a wonderful day at Rob and Sally's garden. Someday I hope to have a garden as beautiful and as plentiful as theirs. But the best part about it was that I got to take home some of the freshest and tastiest food we have ever had. I will share the wonderful meal we had and all the recipes in my next post.

And now for a little fun after all that hard work!

Thank you Rob for inviting us to your garden. We had a wonderful time!